Scraper-extractor

ABSTRACT

This gantry-type scraper-extractor comprises a gantry from which two arms equipped with endless chains carrying scraper tools are suspended in separate planes by having their lower ends pivoted to and guided by the base of said gantry, the upper ends of said scraper arms being interconnected by a link-forming member pivoted to said upper ends and responsive to a control device of the screw-jack type determining the angular position of said member in relation to the upper end of one arm so that the upper end of the other arm constantly lies substantially above that of said first arm.

D United States Patent 1 1 1111 3,770,099

Bernicot Nov. 6 1973 54] SCRAPER-EXTRACTOR 3,621,977 11 1971 Fischer214/10 [76] Inventor: Bernard Bernicot, 4, rue dAnvers, FOREIGN PATENTSOR APPLICATIONS Mulhousc, France 747,683 4/1938 Germany 214 10 122Filed: Nov. 30, 1971 Primary ExaminerGerald M. Forlenza I Appl' 203259Assistant Examiner-Frank E. Werner Related US. Application Data AztorneyRobert E. Burns et al. [63] Continuation-in-part of Scr. No. 859,473,Sept. 19,

1969, abandoned. [57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority DataThis gantry-type scraper-extractor comprises a gantry June 20 1969France 6920772 from which two arms equipped with endless Chains ryingscraper tools are suspended in separate planes by 52 us. Cl 198/3637/192 R 214/10 having their lower ends Pivmed and guided by 51 Int. Cl.B65 g 59/00 base of Said gantry "PPer ends Said Scraper arms [58] Fieldof Search 198/9 36 87 92 being inmconnected by a ink-forming member198/174. 214/10. 37/191 5 oted to said upper ends and responsive to acontrol device of the screw-jack type determining the angular po- [56]References Cited sition of said member in relation to the upper end ofone arm so that the upper end of the other arm con- UNITED STATESPATENTS stantly lies substantially above that of said first arm.3,604,572 9/1971 Strocker et al. 214/10 3,509,985 5/1970 Fischer 198/363 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures PATENTEDHUY 6 1m SHEET 30F 3 m OE mm 8 mm mmmm s E 4 N. v 8 3w 3 i Q @m 1 SCRAPER-EXTRACTOR CROSS REFERENCES TORELATED APPLICATIONS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relatesto a scraper-extractor of the movable translational type, whichcomprises essentially two movable arms carried by a gantry and providedwith scraping means.

A scraper-extractor movable on rails is already known, which comprises apair of scraper arms disposed in succession and pivoted to each other soas to form a variable angle therebetween for scraping simultaneously thetwo sides of a heap, pile or like material or products to be picked up.The scraper arms are driven separately and suspended from the gantryoverlying the material. However, in actual service a scraper extractorof this type proved unsatisfactory in that the material to be scrapedoff tended to accumulate and clog the apex portion of the angle formedby the two arms, thus impairing the operation of the assembly.

Another known scraper comprises two arms pivoted to the gantry at theirbases, without having any common point. Obviously, this arrangement isattended by considerable difficulties as far as synchronization isconcerned. On the other hand, two separate devices must be provided forcontrolling the luffing or upward movements of the two arms, thusincreasing the final cost of the assembly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, it is the essentialobject of the present invention to avoid these inconveniences byproviding a scraper-extractor of the movable translational type, adaptedto operate under the best possible conditions as far as efficiency isconcerned, while having a sound mechanical construction eliminating anyrisk of clogging and failures, the cost of the complete unit comparingfavorably with the most economical apparatus hitherto available in thisfield.

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view of a gantry scraper accordingto this invention;

It is another scope of this invention to provide a scraper-extractorfree of any clogging in the zone adjacent to the upper ends of its twoscraper arms.

To this end, the scraper-extractor of the movable translational typeaccording to this invention, comprising a gantry from which aresuspended a first scraper arm and a second scraper arm, said arms havingtheir lower ends pivoted to and guided by said gantry, is characterizedin that the upper ends of said arms are interconnected by a memberpivoted to said upper ends, and that an adjustable control device isprovided for determining the proper angular position of said connectingmember in relation to the upper end of said first arm so that the upperend of said second arm constantly lies at a higher level than the upperend of said first arm.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING A typical form of embodiment of thisinvention will now be described with reference to the accompanyingdrawing:

FIG. 2 is an elevational view showing on a larger scale the memberinterconnecting the upper ends of the two scraper arms, with its controlsystem, and

1 FIG. 3 is a plane view showing on a still larger scale the upper endsof the two scraper arms, the connecting member and its control system.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The scraper-extractor movable intranslation, ac-

cording to the invention, as illustrated very diagrammatically in FIG.1, comprises essentially a gantry 1 having the shape of an inverted Vand at its lower ends, means permitting its translation along horizontaltrack rails (not shown). Suspended from this gantry 1 are a pair ofscraper arms, namely a primary scraper arm 2 and a secondary scraper arm3. Each scraper arm 2, 3 carries an endless scraper chain driven frompower means (not shown) and provided with scraping tools disposed atspaced intervals. The primary scraper arm 2 is pivoted at its lower endto the lower portion of gantry 1, about pivot means 4. The secondaryscraper arm 3 carries at its lower end a pivot shaft 5 or any othersimilar member adapted to slide in a guide rail 6 carried by the gantry.This secondary arm 3 is on the other hand suspended at its upper endfrom a hoisting rope 7 passing over a pulley and connected to a luffingor hoisting winch (not shown).

According to this invention, the pair of scraper arms 2 and 3 areinterconnected at their upper ends by a connecting member 9 pivoted onthe one hand'to the upper end'of primary arm 2 about a pivot pin 10 andon the other hand to the upper end of the secondary arm 3 about anotherpivot pin 11. This connecting member 9 is held in an adjustable angularposition in relation to the primary arm 2, through a control device 12operatively connected to the connecting member 9 by means of atransmission device 13 such as a linkage or lever system. 7 I

The connecting member 9 illustrated diagrammatically in the drawinginthe form ofa link, is positioned and held in a position such that theupper end of the secondary arm 3, during actual operation, is constantlykept above upper end of arm 2, as illustrated in FIG. 1. With thisarrangement, it is possible to definitely eliminate any risk of cloggingthe angle formed between the two scraper arms.

The control device 12 is intended for adjusting at will the inclinationof the connecting member 9 in relation to the primary arm 2, andtherefore the position of the connecting member 9 as the two arms 2 and3 are lowered. This variation in the angular position of the connectingmember 9 is particularly desirable when the two arms 2, 3 eventuallyengage the ground 14, for in this case a superposition would prevent acomplete picking up the products in series. In this last instance, bydisposing the connecting member 9 substantially in alignment with theprimary arm 2, the two scraper arms 2 and'3 can be aligned in end to endrelationship, as shown diagrammatically in dash lines in FIG. 1. ThisFigure also shows in dash lines an intermediate position of arms 2 and3, during the downward movement thereof.

Now reference will be made more particularly to FIGS. 2 and 3 fordescribing a specific and exemplary form of embodiment of theabove-mentioned control device 12 and also of the connecting andsuperposition member 9 contemplated between the upper ends of-thescraper arms 2 and 3 of the apparatus.

The connecting member 9 comprises two parallel arms 18, 19 of sectionmaterial, welded to each other and pivoted about pivot pins 10, 11carried by the upper ends of arms 2 and 3, respectively, equipped inturn with the scraper chains 20, 21. The two arms 18, 19 areinterconnected by a cross member 22.

The control device proper 12 comprises a pair of mechanical screw jacks23, 24, mounted on a frame structure 25 rigid with the head of theprimary scraper arm 2. This frame structure comprises a cross member 26to which an electric motor 27 is mounted, the output shaft of this motorcarrying a pulley 28 connected via V-belts 29 to another pulley 30 rigidwith a transverse shaft 31. This shaft 31 rotatably mounted in bearings32 carried by said cross member 26 is operatively connected to the inputshafts of jacks 23 and 24. The output rods 33, 34 of these jacks havetheir outer ends pivoted to shafts 37, 38, carried by straps 35, 36rigid with said cross member 22. The shafts 37, 38 also act as pivotmeans to links 39, 40, and extend through external straps 41, 42, rigidwith theaforesaid two arms 18 and 19, respectively, and receiving theends of said links 39 and 40, respectively. At their opposite ends theselinks are formed with elongated holes 43, 44 into which pivot pins 45,46 carried by cross member-26 project.

From the foregoing, it is clear that when the electric motor 27 isenergized, its rotational movement is transmitted to the transverseshaft 31 via pulleys 28, 30 and belts 29. Shaft 31 rotatably drives thescrew jacks 23, 24, and thus cause the rods 33, 34 thereof to emerge orrecede, according to the direction of rotation of the electric motor 27.Due to the operative coupling of these rods with straps 35, 36 carriedby cross members 22, the complete connecting member 9 is caused to pivotabout the axis of pivot pin until the desired angular relationshipbetween this member and the primary scraper arm 2, and therefore theproper positioning of the upper end of the other'scraper arm 3 pivotedto the connecting arms 18, 19, about the other pivot pin 11, isobtained.

Of course, various modifications and variations may be contemplated inthe practical embodiment of this invention, without inasmuch departingfrom the basic principle of the invention as set'forth in the appendedclaims.

What is claimed as new is:

1. In a scraper extractor of the translational type movable above a heapor pile of bulk material to be loaded comprising a movable gantry, afirst scraper arm having a lower end pivotally mounted on said gantryand extending on one side of said gantry, a second scraper arm mountedon said gantry on an opposite side of said gantry and having a lower endguided on said gantry, means for guiding said second arm lower end forupward and downward movement thereof, means for lifting and controllingdownward movement of saidsecondary arm, first and second pivot pins onthe upper ends of said first and second scraper arms respectively, amember interconnecting the upper ends of said first and second scraperarms and having ends pivotally connected to said first and second pivotpins respectively, and adjustment means for variably adjusting andmaintaining the angular position of said connecting member about saidfirst pivot pin so that the upper end of said second scraper arm isdisposed above the upper end of said first arm during the major downwardmovement of said upper end of said first and second arms, saidadjustment means comprising a cross member rigid with the upper end ofsaid first scraper arm, an electric motor carried by said cross member,a transverse shaft rotatably mounted on said cross member andoperatively connected to the output shaft of said electric motor, a pairof mechanical screw jacks carried by said cross member and operativelyconnected to the two ends of said transverse shaft, respectively, eachscrew jack comprising a movable rod, said connecting member comprising apair of straps to which the ends of the two rods of said screw jacks arepivoted respectively.

1 2. A scraper-extractor as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidconnecting member comprises two vertical parallel arms pivoted to saidfirst and second pivot pins and a distance-piece interconnecting saidtwo arms and carrying said pair of straps. I

'3. In a gantry scraper for loading bulk material from a storage heap; agantry; a scraperloader for loading bulk material from a storage heap ofsaid material comprising a first scraper jib having first scraper meansthereon for scraping said material from said storage heap to a loadingposition, and a second scraper jib having second scraper means thereonfor scraping said material on said storage heap and feeding said firstscraper means with said material, means pivotally connecting a lower endof said first scraper jib to said gantry at an elevation above theelevation of the bottom of said storage heap; a link member pivotallyconnecting said second scraper jib to said first scraper jib; meanspivotally connecting said link member at one point to said secondscraper jib; means pivotally connecting said link member at anotherpoint to said first scraper jib; guiding means for guiding movement ofsaid second scraper jib during operation of said gantry scraper; andadjusting means connected to said link member and operative forselectively applying a force to said link member for adjusting andmaintaining during operation the relative angular position of said linkmember and said second scraper jib relative to said first scraper jib.

1. In a scraper - extractor of the translational type movable above a heap or pile of bulk material to be loaded comprising a movable gantry, a first scraper arm having a lower end pivotally mounted on said gantry and extending on one side of said gantry, a second scraper arm mounted on said gantry on an opposite side of said gantry and having a lower end guided on said gantry, means for guiding said second arm lower end for upward and downward movement thereof, means for lifting and controlling downward movement of said secondary arm, first and second pivot pins on the upper ends of said first and second scraper arms respectively, a member interconnecting the upper ends of said first and second scraper arms and having ends pivotally connected to said first and second pivot pins respectively, and adjustment means for variably adjusting and maintaining the angular position of said connecting member about said first pivot pin so that the upper end of said second scraper arm is disposed above the upper end of said first arm during the major downward movement of said upper end of said first and second arms, said adjustment means comprising a cross member rigid with the upper end of said first scraper arm, an electric motor carried by said cross member, a transverse shaft rotatably mounted on said cross member and operatively connected to the output shaft of said electric motor, a pair of mechanical screw jacks carried by said cross member and operatively connected to the two ends of said transverse shaft, respectively, each screw jack comprising a movable rod, said connecting member comprising a pair of straps to which the ends of the two rods of said screw jacks are pivoted respectively.
 2. A scraper-extractor as set forth in claim 1, wherein said connecting member comprises two vertical parallel arms pivoted to said first and second pivot pins and a distance-piece interconnecting said two arms and carrying said pair of straps.
 3. In a gantry scraper for loading bulk material from a storage heap; a gantry; a scRaper loader for loading bulk material from a storage heap of said material comprising a first scraper jib having first scraper means thereon for scraping said material from said storage heap to a loading position, and a second scraper jib having second scraper means thereon for scraping said material on said storage heap and feeding said first scraper means with said material, means pivotally connecting a lower end of said first scraper jib to said gantry at an elevation above the elevation of the bottom of said storage heap; a link member pivotally connecting said second scraper jib to said first scraper jib; means pivotally connecting said link member at one point to said second scraper jib; means pivotally connecting said link member at another point to said first scraper jib; guiding means for guiding movement of said second scraper jib during operation of said gantry scraper; and adjusting means connected to said link member and operative for selectively applying a force to said link member for adjusting and maintaining during operation the relative angular position of said link member and said second scraper jib relative to said first scraper jib. 